Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs

Improvement Plan March 2014

Contents

Foreword .................................................................................................................... 3

Assessment: where we are now ................................................................................. 4

Where we want to improve… .....................................................................................13

The case for change ..................................................................................................14

A balanced approach: the case for change ...............................................................15

Action plan .................................................................................................................17

Foreword This is our plan to improve core Defra and all its network bodies – agencies, NDPBs and others – so that we work together as ‘one business’.

We deliver many important outcomes and have already made good progress in improving much of what we do, as reflected in this document. But we know there is more to do, and that reform is increasingly difficult because easier wins have been made

We face a combination of continuing pressure on public funds; big policy and delivery challenges, both UK and global; rising public and customer expectations and a big appetite for reform across the public service.

Defra is actively planning ahead. We now need to do more to safeguard vital services and capability at the frontline. So the Department and wider Defra family’s aim is to operate increasingly as ‘one business’, whilst maintaining appropriate independence for statutory bodies and functions

Our improvement plan is ambitious but realistic. We are combining a sense of urgency with a pragmatic approach to change to deliver ‘one business’ across our complex operating group of organisations.This means taking time to get things right, and putting emphasis on the right leadership and capabilities.

BRONWYN HILL, Permanent Secretary

Assessment: where we are now We deliver a wide range of outcomes

Defra has one of the widest remits of any Department, which we deliver with one of the most extensive networks. As well as our 42 arms’ length bodies (down from 92 in 2010), we work with other Government Departments, local authorities (including the emergency services), a wide range of stakeholders and customers and international partners. Our work impacts on the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and environment we inhabit. Our priorities, set by the Secretary of State, are:

• to improve the environment;

• to grow the rural economy;

• to protect animal health; and

• to protect plant health.

We are also making a significant contribution to the recovery from recession through our 10 point plan for economic growth. The farming, food and drink sector alone accounts for 3.5 million jobs and is 7% of the economy.

Defra has deep expertise, with many knowledgeable people who are passionate about their work.

We have achieved a lot so far…

Highlights of 2013-14 include continuing improvements in performance at the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), an effective response to ash die-back (by Defra, the Forestry Commission, FERA and Natural England) and flooding emergencies (Defra and the Environment Agency), negotiations in Europe on reform of Common Fisheries and Common Agriculture policies, and consultation on a 25 year strategy to eradicate bovine TB.

The Defra team secured radical change to EU Common Fisheries Policy, delivering a key coalition commitment. We led the drive to decentralise decision-making from Brussels back to Member States. Great consultation and collaboration in the UK and Brussels led to a ban on discarding of fish, whilst enabling fishing businesses to operate within the quota system.

Overall, the new arrangements will mean quicker decisions under the CFP, and the ban on fish discards will be rolled out from 2015.

Bovine TB

Drawing on expertise from across the network, Defra oversaw delivery of pilot badger culls in two areas of England most severely affected by bovine TB in what was some of our most challenging work during 2013. This was an important part of the part of the Government’s long term objective of getting TB-free status for for England. It brought together people with a wide variety of expertise and from many organisations, including a number of volunteers, to work in partnership with industry in their delivery of this approach.

We have made significant innovations in the way we develop and implement policy. The examples show how we have achieved a wide range of real world outcomes. In particular, our response to the outbreak of Chalara fraxinea (Ash die-back) in 2012 is a good example of open policy-making.

Ash die-back

Following the outbreak of Chalara fraxinea in 2012, Defra, FERA and the Forestry Commission worked collaboratively with stakeholders to develop our collective response to the pathogen as set out in the Chalara Management Plan published in March 2013.

Since then this approach has been expanded to cover other established (or nearly established) tree pests and pathogens where a co-ordinated approach would be of value. This has brought together information on risk from the new Plant Health Risk Register, operational advice from stakeholders working on-the-ground and scientific research on epidemiology and genomics. The Defra Network and stakeholders are now better placed to improve the resilience of our trees to pests and pathogens.

We have strengthened our ability to gather the views of the wider range of stakeholders by investing in the Delib platform for consultation, which has been used for major consultations e.g. CAP and flooding insurance.

Flood emergencies

The winter of 2013-14 was the wettest for 250 years, with prolonged periods of heavy rain, gale force winds, tidal surges and huge waves in many coastal areas. December 2013 was the stormiest since records began, and further gales and heavy rain in the following months resulted in coastal, river, surface and groundwater flooding. The Environment Agency worked with emergency responders throughout to minimise the risk to people and communities. In total, some 6,500 homes and businesses flooded in England from December to March.

Flood schemes defended over 1.4 million homes and properties and protected 2,740 square kilometres of agricultural land, whilst advances in forecasting and warning saved lives and livelihoods. Defra has worked very closely with other Government Departments and Industry to ensure that affordable flood risk insurance continues to be available in areas at risk. A way forward was announced by Ministers in June 2013, and we remain on track for implementation in 2015.

We deliver our complex remit through the core Department plus five Executive Agencies (the RPA, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Centre for Environmental, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Veterinary Medicines Directorate and the Food and Environment Research Agency); a number of non-departmental public bodies including the Environment Agency and Natural England, Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, Marine Management Organisation; non-ministerial departments; and a public corporation. Several of our delivery bodies provide services for the Devolved Administrations.

Over time we have improved efficiency and delivery across the network, with significant examples of collaborative and shared working, but we need to do more. The Defra Board monitors overall performance of the network and carries out deep dives on specific issues.

Illustration: Defra and its wider network

We carry out triennial reviews of our remaining NDPBs. The most substantial review was of the Environment Agency and Natural England. This concluded that the EA and NE should be retained as two separate NDPBs, with an increased emphasis on joint working and a shared culture. A joint action plan for implementation of the conclusions of the triennial review of EA and NE was published in December 2013.

…whilst making significant savings and improvements in the way we work

We have achieved significant improvements in our performance whilst making some of the largest efficiency savings in Government. Our operating costs in 2012/13 were 37% lower than in 2009/10. The table shows how our overall budget (excluding EU receipts) will fall by 31% from 2009/10 to 2015/16. Our ministers are fully involved in the prioritisation of these budgets.

2009/10 actual outturn 2014/15 budget 2015/16 budget

Resource DEL 2216 1687 (-24%) 1540 (-30%)

Capital DEL 693 413 (-40%) 468 (-32%)

Total 2909 2089 (-28%) 2009 (-31%)

Notes:

2014/15 and 2015/16 budgets exclude additional funding for flood defences (2014/15 £20m resource and £145m capital, 2015/16 £35m resource and £25m capital. Defra also receives an additional £2.3bn (2013/14 figures) per annum for EU Programme including the Single Payment Scheme, Rural Development Programme for England and the European Fisheries Fund

We have made efficiency savings across the Defra network to help us to live within our reducing budget, whilst responding to the need for Civil Service Reform. CSR “game changer” actions are highlighted in bold throughout this chapter. We have a 100% response to the Cabinet Office Quarterly Data Summary.

We have reduced our workforce from 26,636 (excluding the Forestry Commission) in March 2010 to 23,714 by 31 March 2013 – a reduction of 11%. In reducing headcount, we have preserved front line capability whilst reducing fixed costs and consultancy.

We are modernising our workplaces making significant savings in the cost of our estates by exiting more than 100 properties and using those we retain more efficiently. By 2013 we had saved £46 million in annual running costs this way, with a further £8 million expected in 2014. Floor space per FTE has fallen to 10.45 m2 - close to the Civil Service benchmark of 10m2.

We have also saved £40m a year in the cost of ICT – whilst providing modern equipment (laptops) which facilitates flexible working. Most employees have laptops by default with access to the internet and social media. Wifi is deployed in most of our buildings.

We are sharing resource and expertise across the Defra network through a network-wide virtual internal audit group, having successfully moved our legal services to TSoL in 2011. Our intention is to transfer our group internal audit service into the proposed single internal audit service for government from 1 April 2015, subject to the successful establishment of the HMT agency vehicle to host the single service by September 2014. Our group internal audit service will work in conjunction with internal audit leadership across government to develop the future single service in parallel with the establishment of the agency. Defra will seek to be an “early adopter” of common ways of working

Changes to procurement have yielded net savings of £13.2m for current and future years from deals done this year alone. We have improved our capability through significant reductions in the use of interim staff, and by sponsoring over half our team to acquire formal qualifications. We are using formal Continuous Improvement techniques in the Environment Agency, FERA and elsewhere, with plans for a wider rollout. Reduced and more efficient procurement of waste infrastructure will save Defra £640m over 28 years.

Core Defra transferred 196 people and all related operations and service customers to the new cross-Departmental Shared Services Connected Ltd in November 2013. We have established an intelligent customer function to support the new contract and governance arrangements.

We are leaders in digital by default ways of working. We have two exemplar programmes within the pan-government digital services transformation programme; one to deliver the new CAP (a major project) and the other the Environment Agency’s waste registration project, both using “agile” techniques. Our communications team won a national award for best use of social media, against competition from the public and private sectors.

The Rural Payments Agency has transformed its performance since the well documented problems arising from implementation of the 2005 Common Agricultural Policy deal, through a 5 year plan to improve performance, reduce costs, and lay the foundations for new CAP schemes.

The Agency is now at the forefront of the Government’s digital by default ambition: more than half of customers make their claims on-line, and over 90% of transactions recording cattle movements, births and deaths are delivered electronically. The sums involved are significant – at £2.3bn a year that is about half of Defra’s overall budget.

Customer feedback from farmers has never been better and the Agency currently has its highest recorded levels of customer satisfaction. RPA customer satisfaction was 6.2/10 in 2007/8 and has risen to 8.5/10 in 2012/13

We know some of the capabilities we need for the future and have started to improve them…

Our 2012 Capability Review highlighted the need for Defra to strengthen leadership capability, build staff engagement and set a clear direction for the Department. A programme of activities to support this included setting a performance standard for the SCS that has focused on improving the qualitative and quantitative evidence of performance, moderation of SCS objectives to improve the overall standard, an annual SCS conference highlighting these key themes and master classes to develop leaders at G7 and above in 2013.

We have introduced common frameworks and systems for people across the Department and Agencies for greater coherence and consistency e.g. Civil Service Competency Framework, talent management, performance management and a single strategy for Learning & Development. Our work marketing the importance of learning and development through ‘5 a year’ was a model adopted across the whole of the Civil Service. As a result between 2012 and 2013 we experienced a 68% increase in the number of times the CSL website was accessed and a 9% increase in our People Survey score on Learning and Development in 2013.

Developing capabilities is a priority at all levels. Apprenticeship numbers are increasing and offer opportunities at entry level. Within Defra the functional groups including commercial, project delivery, digital, finance and HR are looking at how to improve professional skills and wider understanding across the Department.We currently have 7 senior project leaders attending the Major Projects Leadership Academy and plan more nominations.

We have prioritised the Environment Agency to build leadership capacity for major projects as flood defence is an area where future GMPP projects may arise. As well as training leaders, we have introduced more rigorous procedures around project start up including a formal internal “red team” challenge for major project business cases prior to HM Treasury scrutiny. We have identified a future requirement relating to EU and International skills to ensure that we maintain the impact of our work abroad and recent successes such as influencing Common Fisheries Policy reform.

…but there is still some way to go

Our People Survey results for the core Department in 2013 show that we are beginning to see change, with improved scores for leadership and management of change (+4%), learning and development (+9%) and staff perception of a coherent vision (+7%). Visibility of our senior leaders has risen and a stronger sense of our future is starting to be communicated to our people, but scores for critical elements such as leadership of change (35%) and vision (28%) remain low both in absolute terms and in relation to the Civil Service benchmark.

Core Defra

AHVLA CEFAS FERA RPA VMD Average Change from CS2013

Response rate %

Change from 2012

87

(+9)

64

(+4)

94

(+2)

81

(+5)

63

(+22)

78

(-5)

74

+14

-4

Employee engagement index %

Change from 2012

52

(+2)

45

(-1)

62

(-3)

54

(+4)

41

(+2)

66

(+2)

49

+1

-9

Increasing engagement and maintaining motivation as we look to do more with fewer resources will be key to our future success. This is supported by the Skills Review audit we did in 2013. Our largest capability gap, Leadership and managing change, continues to be our top priority going forward. Listening to the feedback provided by our people will continue to be important.

Similar people surveys are carried out elsewhere in the network, but using different contractors, questions and metrics which make comparisons difficult. For example, on its own measure of engagement, 71% of Environment Agency staff were engaged in 2013, an increase of 8% on the previous year, whilst 70% of Natural England’s staff felt that it was a good place to work (with only 2.5% disagreeing).

Our stakeholders are generally positive, but with caveats about delivery and joining up

An independent survey undertaken by Ipsos Mori in 2012 showed that most stakeholders thought Defra was approachable, listened to their views, and treated them with respect. Views were generally neutral rather than exceptional and in line with surveys of other government departments. Criticisms focused on a perception that Defra lacks influence and profile and should; join up with other parts of government more effectively. Some had doubts about the ability to effectively deliver priorities (42% of respondents), and felt that Defra and its network should join up better (45% of respondents said it was not easy to find out who was responsible for what within the network). 39% disagreed with a positive statement about consistency of messages between the Core department and its delivery partners.

Similar evidence is available for network bodies. For example, Natural England surveys its customers and partners. In 2013 77% of its customers for land management, wildlife licensing and land use services expressed themselves as satisfied. Our largest NDPB – the Environment Agency – has carried out more segmented research into the views of its stakeholders. For flood management, for example, 92% of other bodies with responsibilities for flood and coastal erosion management said that they were satisfied with the way the EA worked with them.

The challenge for the future is to develop a ‘one business’ view of how well Defra, its agencies, NDPBs and other bodies deliver for our customers and stakeholders.

Where we want to improve…

By focusing on outcomes… By putting our customers and stakeholders at the heart of what we do…

By doing more to inspire and motivate people to do a good job

By having more flexible systems and processes…

28% of core Defra people think the Board have a clear vision for

the future 38% of stakeholders are negative about

Defra’s ability to influence OGDs

42% of our stakeholders lack confidence in our ability to deliver

We don’t have a clear ‘system wide’ understanding of

our customers

32% in core and 5 agencies say leading and managing change

is effective.

34% of staff in Core and 5 agencies think their top management

has clear vision Half of stakeholders are neutral about us – only 8% speak highly

unprompted

31% in Core Defra feel able to contribute

views before decisions on change

The case for change The scale of our ambition and the challenge means we need a new approach

We know that change in the global and UK economy & society is set to continue. There are growing pressures on the environment, the rural economy, animal and plant health disease and other Defra responsibilities. Significant public expenditure reductions are likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Wider public sector reform is rightly challenging what we do and how we do it.

We have a good platform upon which to build our response to these changes and challenges, with significant progress already made in improving each organisation in the Defra network. People across the Network have worked tirelessly, and achieved much. However, we know that more will be needed, and that a solution based on our current ways of working will not be enough: future improvements will need a stronger cross network approach.

The vision for ‘one business’ is to make Defra better at what it does, easier to do business with, a better place to work, and more flexible and resilient.

A ‘system-wide’ approach

Defra is not yet one business – it is still a traditional core civil service department, with complex governance and accountabilities from a network of 42 organisations that have grown up over the years. ‘One business’ is about making us more than the sum of our parts, with all organisations in the network better aligned around a shared purpose.

In order to move to ‘one business’ our Board has decided that we need:

• A clear overall picture of what is happening

• Clear strategic control function and simpler accountability structure

• Clear responsibilities across Core Defra and the network, reducing gaps, eliminating duplication and providing appropriate independence for statutory bodies and functions.

• System-wide prioritisation to avoid ‘gold plating’ of some customer services, policy and evidence

• Well managed change and continuous improvement – and systems which help rather than hinder

• Clear understanding, on a consistent basis, of cost-drivers and opportunities for further efficiency

• Inter-operability of systems and processes between core Defra and the network

• The right skills and capability for the future, focused on the right priorities

A balanced approach

To lead and manage a more effective Defra ‘system’ in the future, we need a realistic plan of action, which takes people with us. Financial pressures are a key driver of reform, but this agenda is not ‘just about the money’. Neither is it ‘just about survival’. It’s about future success.

For these reasons, we are taking a balanced scorecard approach. This makes sure that as well as a focus on achieving outcomes (with smaller budgets), we also build up our reputation with customers and stakeholders, make our systems and processes more flexible and responsive, and inspire our people.

A balanced approach: the case for change

Strategic Alignment

Since early 2013, Defra’s Executive Committee (ExCo) has led work with the wider Network Directors and CEOs to develop our vision for ‘one business’ and a portfolio of workstreams to deliver it. A new ‘One Business” Board with representation from around the network has been created to manage this portfolio so that we are investing scarce resources to deliver the greatest collective benefits.

Strategic alignment is about finding better, more flexible ways of working - based on setting the destination and design principles. It helps leaders make iterative decisions in a structured and rigorous way. This is about sharing and testing the thinking as we go, rather than ‘big bang’ up front decisions. Decisions draw upon expertise from around the network, and are made in four stages:

Early decisions include EU payments and Future Corporate Services.

Defra decided in late 2013 to change how it delivers EU Payments. This reduces the number of bodies responsible for delivering EU payments from four down to two, which is expected to save money, improve the customer experience and reduce the risk of disallowance. This will involve a number of staff moving from core Defra, Natural England and the Forestry Commission to join the RPA

The work was done by a specially formed team from the four bodies responsible for EU payments and policy leads in Defra. The production of the Design & Prove phase took less than three months and enabled quick decisions which are now being implemented.

The next chapter sets out the actions we will take next year (2014-15) to deliver the Board’s vision, meeting the case for change and making ‘one business’ a reality.

Action plan The diagram below summarises the top 10 actions we will take in 2014-15 to make Defra better at what it does, easier to do business with, a better place to work, and more flexible and resilient.

The actions are grouped into our four balanced quadrants: strategic direction; strong reputation with customers and stakeholders; flexible and responsive systems and processes; and inspired people. Together they will help us to deliver on the most important real world outcomes.

Summary of action plan

Quadrant 1: Clear strategic direction… through leadership and alignment as ‘one business’

We have a clear Defra story and destination….

Action 1: We will strengthen our HQ function to set a stronger strategic direction across the network, reflecting better use of resources. HQ will have five functions: setting strategic direction; strategic stakeholder engagement; commissioning; standard setting, and driving performance. We are designing HQ’s functions and identifying key capabilities before determining what form it should take. HQ will be within core Defra rather than separate from it and the network.

Action 2: We will set strategic direction, guided by the four Ministerial priorities of improving the environment, growing the rural economy and protecting animal and plant health, within a common purpose for the network.

Success will mean:

• We have clear, well-prioritised outcomes and objectives to achieve, and a clear understanding between us and our stakeholders of what we must do, and what we can enable others to do by acting as, for example, a funder, facilitator or using our strategic influence;

• We have a clear direction of travel as ‘one business’, including being flexible to change, with each part of the network working towards a shared and inspiring common purpose

• We can scan the horizon on behalf of the whole business

What will we do by the end of March 2015? What will it mean?

1: new HQ function

Agree functions, form, and capabilities. Under action 6 we will pilot the new HQ commissioning approach.

“we’ll lead the whole business as one”

“we’ll sharpen decisions on priorities when resources are tight”

“we’ll see problems and opportunities coming”

“we’ll be better at flexing resources to deal with an emergency because we have a system-wide understanding of where they are”

2. Set strategic direction

We will publish a clear strategic direction for Defra as ‘one business’ based on a common purpose. This will set out our vision and priorities and how we can work with others outside ‘one business’ to deliver them.

“Our staff will know how their work fits into the vision”

“Our stakeholders will know what are our priorities – and how they can help to achieve them”

Quadrant 2: An open and expert organisation that is easy to do business with

When we tell Defra’s story it’s credible and compelling, and we bring others with us….

Action 3: We will deliver immediate customer improvements by reducing the number of network bodies who deliver over £2bn of EU payments to farmers and others from four (Rural Payments Agency, Natural England, core Defra and the Forestry Commission) to two (RPA and NE). We will offer customers a better service, reduce costs and simplify our processes. This will also help to reduce the risk of EU penalties. We will review our customer contacts and look to integrate and target more effectively the farm inspections by Defra bodies.

Action 4: We will put the customer first and embed continuous improvement throughout ‘one business’

Action 5: We will (through HQ) take a more integrated approach to our stakeholders, working with them strategically to achieve our priority outcomes. Aided by a clear vision of our purpose and strategy, HQ will ensure that messages to stakeholders from all parts of the network are joined up; that we have the right information from stakeholders for the commissioning process through which we will decide where we have to act ourselves and where we will rely on others; and that stakeholders are engaged using open policy making techniques.

Success will mean:

• That customers say we are easy to do business with – because we are more joined up, understand their different needs, and actively manage demand for our services

• That stakeholders rate us highly for what we do, how we do it, and the impact that we have – building on a clear, positive and credible narrative that staff are confident to tell.

• That outcomes are achieved through others – because we are innovative about how we operate, and clear about our role

What will we do by the end of March 2015?

What will it mean?

3. Immediate customer improvements

We will reduce the number of network bodies involved in making payments to farmers and rural business

We will review the number of different farm inspection schemes we operate and integrate where possible

We will review our other customer contacts centres, with an emphasis on increasing self-service

“we’ll be able to give a much better service to thousands of customers, whilst saving money and reducing risk”

“We’ll reduce the burden we place on people and make it easier for them to help themselves”

4. Continuous Improvement

We’ll build the capability to apply continuous improvement throughout ‘one business’, using existing areas of excellence

“we’ll be customer-focussed throughout ‘one business’”

5. An integrated approach to our stakeholders

Within the newly-established HQ we will start managing our stakeholders strategically, taking their views into account in the commissioning process, ensuring joined up communications and ensuring that stakeholders are engaged using open policy making techniques

“Our stakeholders do more for themselves, with our help, and have to spend less time asking us to do things”

“Other Departments see us as a safe pair of hands”

“We communicate clearly and effectively, including at times of pressure”

Quadrant 3: Simpler, more effective flexible systems and processes

We can see how we are getting on in making the Defra story a reality….

Action 6: We will develop a new HQ commissioning approach, replacing “bottom up” or incremental approaches to policy design and resource allocation with stronger direction and strategic reprioritisation. We will test this approach in 2015/16 with our two largest NDPBs, the Environment Agency and Natural England which are critical to improving the environment and will help to deliver the triennial review recommendation for closer joint working.

Action 7: We will reform our corporate services by consolidating estates, procurement and ICT services across ‘one business’ into a single organisation to drive further efficiencies and more integrated support functions.

Success will mean:

• Visibility across ‘one business’ so that leaders have the information necessary to direct the business effectively and make decisions in the interests of the whole, beyond our current silos – through better management information, factoring risk into cross cutting decisions, and being able to quickly (re)allocate resource.

• A HQ ‘commissioning’ approach providing stronger direction and greater prioritisation of operations, evidence, policy and corporate services;

• That we have a clear guiding operating model that works to appropriate standards and common principles – able to adapt and flex to new circumstances, with lean processes that add value, and governance that holds the right people to account and allows appropriate delegation.

What will we do by the end of March 2015?

What will it mean?

6. Develop and use a new commissioning approach

We will develop and test the new approach with the Environment Agency and Natural England, our two largest NDPBs.

“we’ll all be clearer about what’s required”

“commissioning involves stakeholders and customers in helping us make the right choices”

“we’ll be able to focus on activities that contribute the most to our destination, and stop those that don’t”

7. Reform corporate services

We will consolidate services across the whole of ‘one business’ to reduce cost and make it easier for people to do a good job

• wave 1 launched in Feb 2014 includes estates, procurement, ICT and corporate communications

“we’ll have services that are more flexible and responsive”

“we’ll save money through reduced duplication”

“we’ll work together to improve the service to our customers”

Quadrant 4: People are inspired to work for Defra, and feel part of a strong, capable organisation

We know our part in the ‘one business’, and are motivated and well equipped to play it…

Action 8: We will build the capability of our people with particular emphasis on policy, influencing, digital, commercial, project delivery and EU and International skills. We will also address the capability needed to operate as ‘one business’ , working across the Department, agencies and NDPBs to address common capability needs, making sure we don’t lose focus on local requirements. We will use horizon scanning and workforce planning techniques to help us do this.

Action 9: We will improve our leadership, to ensure we are leading and engaging our people to achieve our vision. We will focus on setting clear expectations, putting greater emphasis on collaborative leadership and ensuring active engagement of our people. We will ensure that they understand how their role contributes to the overall objectives and vision.

Action 10: We will ensure our people have the right incentives to work as ‘one business’

Success will mean:

• We identify needs and build capacity across the whole of ‘one business’, removing barriers to cross-organisational collaboration, valuing flexibility and adaptability

• That the ‘one business’ vision unifies, excites and inspires people with a clear direction of travel and purpose – with leadership at all levels that is strong, visible and inspiring

• Our people understand what is expected of them (knowledge, skills, behaviours) and how what they do contributes to business delivery. They have the opportunity to develop continuously. We reward ‘one business’ behaviours, ensuring our people are recognised and valued.

What will we do by the end of March 2015?

What will it mean?

8. Capability

We will:

• Develop the capability needed to deliver ‘one business’, and use the performance management system to drive improvements

• Deliver priorities in the Capability Plan, and develop a ‘one business’ approach to strategic workforce planning

• Refresh our Learning and Development Strategy, tackling common gaps alongside agencies and NDPBs.

“we’ll have the capability we need to make ‘one business’ a reality”

“we’ll have confident leaders who are able to take their teams with them through periods of significant change”

“we’ll have people who are clear about what’s expected of them and are confident in their ability to deliver”

“We’ll take a joined up approach across core Department, agencies and NDPBs to developing our people and understanding our future needs”…

9. Leadership

We will

• Set clear expectations for leaders, and provide targeted development and other opportunities to help them get there

• Focus our performance management systems and processes to encourage and reward collaborative leadership

• Strengthen our talent pipeline and improve succession planning across the core department and agencies

“We’ll have confident leaders who are able to take their teams with them through significant change”

“our people will be clear what’s expected of them and that they can deliver it”

10. Incentives for a ‘one business’ culture

We will review what needs to change to help create a ‘one business’ culture that will stick, to inspire people so that they are motivated and rewarded for their contribution to collective improvement.

“we’ll remove obstacles to working across boundaries, sharing resources, and acting in the interests of the organisation as a whole”

Action Plan Metrics and Milestones by Balanced Scorecard Quadrant

Improvement being made

Metric used to measure progress

Date to review metric and who reviews it

Trigger that will signal mitigating action needs to be taken

Strategic Direction

1. Establish HQ function

Lead indicator: % of core Defra staff who agree that the Defra Board has a clear vision for the future (baseline 28% of core Defra staff). We will look at similar indicators (which already exist) for our five Executive Agencies and develop a ‘one business’ metric subsequently.

Lag indicator: employee engagement score.

Initially we will use the score for our Civil Servants (49% compared to Civil Service average of 58%) and the separate scores for Core Defra and our 5 Executive Agencies but subsequently we will consider developing a ‘one business’ indicator covering NDPBs and other network bodies.

Yearly, following the annual People Survey, by ‘One Business” Board, ExCo and Defra Board

Lead and lag measures do not rise.

2. Set strategic direction

As above Yearly, by Defra Board As above

Customers and Stakeholders

3. Immediate customer improvements: EU payments

A customer satisfaction metric from the EU payments workstream

Annually, by ‘One Business’ Board, ExCo and Defra Board

Customer satisfaction does not rise

4. Put the customer first through continuous improvement

Customer satisfaction metrics at the ‘one business’ level based on existing metrics for Natural England, the Environment Agency and the RPA

Annually, by ‘One Business’ Board, ExCo and Defra Board

Customer satisfaction does not rise

5. Establish strategic stakeholder management as HQ function

No metric – progress to be assessed by considering stakeholder comments. Overview to be obtained at ‘one business’ level

Annually by ‘One Business’ Board, ExCo and Defra Boardfollowing stakeholder survey

Deep analysis and segmentation of survey results reveals that corrective action is needed

Flexible Systems and processes

6. Introduce commissioning as part of HQ

Commissioning is in place for two largest NDPBs (Environment Agency and Natural England) by 2015/16 and for whole business by 2016/17

Regular progress reports to ‘One Business’ Board, ExCo and Defra Board

Commissioning milestones are not met

7. Consolidate corporate services across network

Successful transition of tranche 1 organisations for estates, ICT and procurement to new single entity by 31/3/15

Value for money with savings profile from workstream

Customer Board, through customer surveys after transition, supported by ‘One Business Board’

Customer Board, using baseline cost from workstream and cost of new service, supported by ‘One Business’ Board

Customers report negative experience

Savings profile not realised

Inspired, capable people

8. Improve leadership

People survey – leadership of change scores. Baseline 35% in core Defra in 2013.

Milestones eg leadership portal to be in use by April 14

People Panel, supported by ‘One Business’ Board, following annual people survey. Reporting to ExCo.

Scores do not improve

Milestones are not reached

9. Improve capability

Milestones from worksteam eg assess capabilities needed to work as ‘one business’ and develop workforce plan by April 15

People Panel, annually, supported by ‘One Business’ Board reporting to ExCo.

Milestones are not reached

10. Incentives Under development

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